August 2012

When it comes to pricing products and services I have always held to the tenet that, whenever possible, it is preferable to give the customer something more for free, than to charge him less.

I espouse this strategy because no matter how much companies try to justify it, the fact is: discounting erodes brand value and loyalty. By marking down the price of your product, even temporarily, you are telling your customer that it is actually worth less than you usually charge for it. And if you regularly or cyclically discount the price, your customer will arrive at a lower fair value for your product that is difficult to reverse. This is especially true for premium brands.